Team Nissan, Osi Shinguards...and Refs

On Wednesday we, team Nissan, played game number three and won 4-1. Our midfield was amazing (which makes sense since our best players play midfield). My streak continued as I scored a goal, though I didn't have to work very hard for it. Greg, our captain, sent through a great cross that split the keeper and the last defender and I simply did my job and closed in the back post.

The fun part was that Kristina and the kids made it out for the first half. Until Wednesday night she had never seen me play; since I stopped playing competitively before we met. Amara joined in with some of the other little girls who were cheering on their fathers. It pretty cute to see.

Osi Shin guards:

OK, so I am a total gadget geek, and I get really excited about new innovations and interesting products. Well, until a few weeks ago I hadn't owned a pair of shin guards since playing in Brazil. I hate the things and I don't play with them unless I have to. Since they are mandatory in the league I went on the Internet to check out the advances that have been made over the last few years and to my surprise their has been a solid advancement in the world of shin guards. Someone finally figured out how to hold the things in place with a Dri-fit sleeve, eliminating all of the straps and Velcro that are so terribly uncomfortable. I bought a pair and I have been amazed at how well they hold in place without tape. (In the picture you can not only see how the shin guards sit with the sleeves but how my foot is holding up. Not too pretty...but looks worse than it feels.)The shinguards are simple, but fit well, and the sleeve holds them on tightly. The compression sleeve is very comfortable. To keep the shin guards on I thought the sleeve would have to be really constrictive, it isn't. (I know, I am way to excited about a thin piece of plastic and some fabric...but shin guards suck! And anything that makes the things wearable for a few hours is great news.)

Refereeing:

I am usually pretty sympathetic towards the refs. Adjudicating soccer is rough. If a forward misses a shot the refs don't come over and taunt them for messing things up, but any call, right or wrong, and refs often get an ear full. Though, this last game the ref really brought it on himself by disobeying one of the cardinal rules of making public decisions.

It wasn't that he made particularly bad calls it was just that he didn't understand that he was giving people an incentive to heckle him. During the first few minutes of the game there was a tough tackle. He made the motion to play on. One of the players who went down, and didn't come away with the ball, started yelling at him for not calling a foul. He then blew his whistle and called a foul. Was it a foul? I am not quite sure, it was a subjective call, but he changed his mind based on the reactions of the players. A few plays later the same sort of call comes up and the players who whine the loudest get a change of call.

I think you can see where this is going. For the rest of the game everyone was constantly yelling at him and he was changing his mind half the time based on who was complaining the most. By the middle of the second half the game was in chaos and the ref started to have to hand out cards to keep people in line.

Just like in life, you are not going to make the best choice every time, but you sometimes have to make one and you have to stick with it. There are few things that can undermine confidence more than constant vacillation.